Eternity is the Price
by Seventh Sage
Summary: An offer made of life for eternity... To accept or to reject? Is eternity the reward... or the price?


Hn… Nothing much to say… This was pretty much based off of an RP my friend and I had. ::nods:: And it's written for a contest. In the original RP, Kratos and Lloyd were… let's just say… quite a bit _closer_. (::is a Kratos/Lloyd shipper:: But… That shouldn't really matter much to you people, should it…? O.o) And in our original RP, we had a Chibi Kratos, Chibi Lloyd, and Chibi Zelos. It was much more interesting with them around. XD

Disclaimer: Tales of Symphonia and it's characters do not belong to me.

Warning: LOTSA spoilers!

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Eternity is the Price

Water was known to be calming, he had heard. That was always their suggestion: take a seat near a stream and just _listen_ to the melodious bubbling of waves over pebbles, the chirping of birds, the heart wrenching sigh of the wind… nature's greatest symphony.

Then why, he wondered, was it doing nothing to pause this rushing adrenaline racing through his veins? Why would it not slow his heartbeats, ease his worries?

It was his own fault, he knew, but that did not help the matters any. He himself had decided to take on this task. He had no one but himself to blame.

None of that mattered. He, Lloyd Irving was determined to keep this promise.

As the twilight sun stretched its fingers towards the distant horizon, the young swordsman reviewed the facts he had collected, trying to organize them into any recognizably helpful form. But as shadows deepened, engulfing the once light-drenched landscape in their blanket of darkness, even the stubborn Lloyd had to admit that he made very little progress, if any.

"Dammit!" The teen's voice cut through the tapestry of nature's sounds, startling many an animal into momentary silence. "I'm not made for this kind of thinking stuff! Genis would be better at 'analyzing information'. He can think and figure things out. I…" He sighed, hands balled into angry fists. "I'd probably make a mistake and end up making it worse!"

His own words flowed hauntingly through his mind, his vow made in such childish ignorance of reality. _I won't let you be lonely again, Dad! Even if no one else will, I'll stay with you forever!_

Decisions… decisions… So much could by solved by one single act; one single _word_, even. A gift, a curse… It was offered to him; he but needed to accept. He did not want it.

"But I…" Face twisted in concentration, Lloyd kicked the nearby stream in frustration, watching as a spray of water fly loose.

It did not help any.

"I have to keep my promise! And there is no other way."

Was that true? He did not know. _Many_ things on this journey had only a single resolution. Was this one of them?

A rustle in the trees behind him first announced another's presence. Before, he would not have been able to detect such a subtle sound, toned with admirably careful blending as to melt effortlessly into disregard in the human mind. But with the harsh but true training under _his_ watchful gaze, Lloyd had learned much.

He tensed, poised and ready should danger approach. "I know you're there."

From the dense forest that formed a verdant wall behind Lloyd strode out a boy; young, unthreatening, sweet, even. Long flaxen hair framed a pale and delicate visage, beset with clear azure eyes that shone with something akin to innocence.

This child was anything but young; his innocence anything but pure.

Lloyd glared. "You…!"

Adopting a calm gaze, the newcomer nodded to himself, seemingly ignoring the crimson-clad youth for the moment being. "I see. _You_ are here. That is why I felt compelled to land."

The anger did not leave the swordsman's dark amber eyes. "Why are you here, Yggdrasill?! Are you going to threaten me again, or hurt my friends?"

The once-hero turned, tears shining within sapphire pools. Lloyd did not know their validity. "Threaten you? Hurt your friends? I have no wish of such things. I never had. You call me by _that _name; show me such hostility. Why? I want but to offer you a present."

The teen snorted. "I still remember your _last_ 'present'. A Seraphim under your command, huh… Forget it. I'd never do that, _Mithos_."

"And why not?" the Half-Elf countered softly, closing his eyes in grief as a tear rolled along an unseen trail down his cheek. "It is... the best thing that I have ever received. Why? Why would you not want that power, that beauty, that life?"

"_What_ life?" Lloyd demanded with a snort, relaxing his posture just the slightest bit now that there was no immediate danger. "What kind of a life would it be, going on and on for eternity, watching everyone else pass away? Kratos already had to go through that. He told me he would _never_ want me to face the same thing. As you pass on, you would lose all your friends, all of whom you cared about…"

"Lose them?" A harsh laugh escaped the child-like Seraphim's mouth. "You wouldn't lose them! Wasn't it _you_ who said that they would always live on in your heart?" He looked away, suddenly sad. "I... I went through it. And though I grief for _my_ friends, I always knew that this was the best choice. Think about what your powers would entail. You could guide them, protect them! And you... you would know that you would always be there for them, that you would exist long enough to do so..."

"Maybe I _would_ always be there…" the swordsman began, "but what about _after_ that?!" His eyes shone with barely-suppressed rage. "You want me to become like you and try to destroy this world?! _Never_! I'd rather live a full life with my friends than to watch them grow old and die!"

Mithos looked away, his voice soft, growing louder and more passionate with each passing word. "Don't you see? I'm trying to _save_ the world. It's _you_ and your 'friends' who would destroy it!" At his sides, his small hands clenched into fists. "Such discrimination was against us. We…" Turning to Lloyd, he blinked tears from his eyes of forget-me-nots once more. "We suffered. _I_ suffered there, and I suffer still, so that I can ensure it happens no more! Live a full life? What a joke. How selfish, how foolish. _Can_ you always be there for them then? _Would_ you always be able to protect them without my power? You say that you fear to watch them age and die. How would you feel, then, if you saw them die in battle instead, bathed in blood and pain, because _you_ were too weak to save them?"

"They _won't_ die in battle!" the younger boy declared angrily. "I'll protect my friends; with my life, with my true potential. I won't be weak! What you're saying is _wrong_. A world full of Lifeless Beings?" Anger turned into incredulity. "How is that going to solve anything? They'd never feel love or happiness! Maybe it's true that there would be no more discrimination, but you can't take away _all_ emotions! I'll change the world with my own hands."

The Seraphim gave him a look and talked on, as if oblivious to the world, so sure of his own ideas, as experience proved faith wrong time and time again. "Love can be crushed so easily. Happiness, once broken, is worse than never-have-beens." He turned his eyes to Lloyd, icy pools of emptiness, devoid of all feelings. "Hopes, dreams... They all shatter, leaving scars on both body and mind. I do not purposely suppress them. They would not last, even were I to let them grow. Hatred, pain… _Those_ are the feelings I strive to eliminate! Why can you not see? I thought _you_, out of all of them, would understand. _You_, who Kratos said was most like me. Had your companions' idiocy so blinded you? You speak of 'potential'. That is what I see in you, shining so brightly as to challenge the sun itself. And yet... Potential is but a fragile rosebud, so easily crushed, so easily destroyed." Diamond tears rose to his eyes, shimmering in mesmeric beauty. "I just want to help that potential, let it grow… A mere nudge would transform it into so much more. Please, that I would not see you destroyed. Would you…" His voice cracked as he looked away, his expression one of heartbroken sorrow. "Would you crush my last hope?"

"I…" Lloyd hesitated, chewing on his bottom lip fretfully. "I…" He shook his head, trying to clear his mind of words that poisoned and seduced. "_No_! Stop _toying_ with me! You're lying… Lying!"

"Do I _look_ like I'm 'toying' with you?" Receiving no reply, the age-old hero repeated his question. "_Do_ I?" Anguish ebbed slowly into his young face at the teen's silence. "Wh-why won't anyone believe me?" Taking a few steps back until he met resistance in a tree, he slowly slid down, wrapping his arms around his knees, hanging his head like a dejected child. "I just… wanted to help… But everyone rejected me." Sobs broke his speech, as tears trailed away unseen. "I gave… so much… but no one cared…"

The scarlet-clad boy sighed, running a hand through his hair. He could feel his temples throbbing as he tried to reason with the volatile, sobbing child before him. "Listen, Mithos, I _do_ care. We all do. You're just… going about it the wrong way. I know I've lived only a tiny _fraction_ of your lifespan, but can't you try to see it our way as well?"

If he had intended to pacify the angel, he would be sorely disappointed indeed. Yggdrasill – for he was no "hero Mithos" in his irrational rage – looked up, a fierce anger glowing in his eyes, replacing all traces of sadness. A soft hiss sharpened the impact of his next words. "_There. Is. No. Other. Way_!"

The swordsman stood his ground, unwilling to give in. "There _is_ another way! Try to look past your ideals and look at _ours_! Don't be so close minded."

"You hypocrite." Turning away in disgust, the Half-Elf gave a frustrated sigh. "You're the ones who won't see past your own ideals, who won't understand. Don't you see? I have observed for _thousands_ of years. Humans, Elves, and Half-Elves have _never_ lived in harmony. _Never_! They would not start to now! How _can_ there possibly _be _another way?" Without warning, he stood, stalking towards Lloyd's companions' campsite. His trademark wings sprouted from his back, lifting him into the air, as orbs of deadly magic gathered in his hands. "You can't protect your friends, and I'll prove that to you right now!"

"Wh-wha…"

Getting over his initial shock, Lloyd let training take over, leaping into his adversary's path, arms held out protectively. "Don't you _dare_ hurt my friends! Don't you _dare_ use them as an excuse to take out your anger! _Listen_ to me. The world changes every day, and people mature. People are accepting Half-Elves and Elves every day. Someday, they'll be fully accepted!"

Mithos snorted, his face a vivid mask of resentment, surrender, and even a twisted form of love. "They are _not_! You're just seeing what you want to see. They're not – _we're_ not – accepted at all, and we'll never be! Half-Elves like us should _never_ have been born. We suffer from both Elves _and_ Humans. You Humans… you're the _worst_."

The young swordsman stumbled back, startled. _Genis_ said the same thing, once. Did he feel the same way?

Taking the opportunity, the Seraphim attacked.

"Ah…!" Eyes widening in surprise, Lloyd instinctively threw up his arms, shielding his face, preparing for the blow that he could not defect.

It never came.

"Mithos, stop!"

It was a simple command, issued in a voice of authority, so familiar to both parties of the fight.

"Mithos, what have you turned into?! What happened to that sweet, cheerful child I once taught?"

"Da—Kratos…" Lloyd felt his knees go weak, felt the momentary adrenaline drain from his body. Relief coursed through him, but also… shame. "I'm sorry. You had to save me again…"

Kratos smiled softly as he walked out beside the youth, a rare, secret smile reserved only for those closest to him. "You did well, Lloyd. I could not have expected you to go up against him unaided. I have come first. The rest of your friends will be arriving soon to support you."

"You!" A gasp cut their conversation short, as they regarded the Half-Elf, face contorted by rage and pointing an accusing finger at the ancient mercenary. "_This is all your fault_! _You_ let my sister die! _You_ betrayed and abandoned me, for these filthy _Humans_! Kratos, _you will be the first to die_!"

"Kratos…!" Disregarding danger, Lloyd ran in front of his father, with only one thought in mind, a solemn promise not easily forgotten. _One day, it will be _my_ turn to protect _you_ instead!_ "Guardian!"

It could not block all the pain, and he screamed. "Aaaaaaah!"

With the young protector distracted, Mithos turned his anger once again towards his former mentor. "Die, traitor! Holy Lance!"__

Eyes wide, the mercenary gave his full attention to his young son, not paying attention to the danger to himself. "Lloyd, are you hu— AH!"

"KRATOS!"

Without pause, the child-hero started preparing another spell.

"No!" Burning determination dominated Lloyd's face, as he held his swords before him, quivering with anger. "I… won't… let… you… do… this!"

"No?" Mithos Yggdrasill was not fazed at all. "Very well. I will just have to kill _both_ of you."

"Lloyd, be careful!" With a firm glare of slow-burning anger, the older Seraphim allowed his sapphire wings to sprout, hovering over his child protectively, at the same height as his once-student. "I won't let you be hurt…"

The ancient hero laughed mockingly. "Very touching, Kratos. What happened to your fighting spirit? Is watching and guarding all you can do now? How pathetic. Now that Origin is no longer sealed within you, I have no more need of your life! Die! Judgement!"

"I won't let you hurt my friends anymore!" Charging with unnatural speed and power, Lloyd leapt up to strike Mithos before the spell could be completed.

"Die!" In a rage, the Half-Elf attacked without thought. "Holy Lance!"

"Nngh…" Through a moan of pain, the crimson-clad swordsman struggled up, on the verge of collapse.

"First Aid!" Kratos's first concern was the well-being of his precious son.

It was then that the earliest Lloyd's companions arrived. A flash of pink burst through the trees, followed by a heavily-panting bundle of silver.

"Lloyd…!" Assessing the situation quickly, Presea readied her enormous axe, rushing in defense of her friend.

Finally regaining his breath, young Genis started preparing a spell after an encouraging call of, "Lloyd, hang in there! We're all coming!" Moments later, he let lose his most powerful technique, to little effect. "Meteor Storm!"

Yggdrasill did not care how many stood before him. To him, they were all pawns, none whose powers could even come close to matching his. "Judgement!"

Taking a split-second decision, Kratos threw himself in front of the younger swordsman. "Mithos! I have been lenient because of past camaraderie, but that will not keep me from fighting you if need comes. I will not allow you to hurt my friends and my son!"

"So emotional now?" The Half-Elven Seraphim sneered. "You were never this way, not even with _us_."

"That is because… he has found real friends." Presea's soft voice cut through the din. "He's found love...and that's the best thing...that can happen to anyone."

"Love?" An empty laugh rang in the air, as ugly bitterness descended Mithos's face. "How can _you_ talk about love, you who lived in emptiness, and waking only for revenge?"

The seemingly-young girl turned her pink head, her pale beryline eyes piercing. "I've found love in my friends. I am no longer alone. I used to...walk for revenge. But now...I can look ahead in life, and know...my life shall never be...empty."

"Words." A sneer of disgust seemed ever-present on Mithos's face at the young generation's faith. "All words. You'll find out how wrong you are! And then, it'll be too late... Much too late..."

One head of dark auburn nodded slightly. "...Just as how now, it is too late to regret that I have not taught you properly."

"What are you talking about?" The ancient hero spun towards his teacher, annoyance evident in his expression. "You… you're just as stupid as the rest of them if you think what you're doing now is right!"

A further arrival saved them from discussion in this particular topic, as a certain redhead burst in. "Heeeey, what'd I mis—Woah! Lloyd! Kratos!"

Kratos, clutching a wound slightly, breathed a sigh of relief, casting First Aid on his companions through clenched teeth. "Zelos. Thank Martel. We have a fearful lack of healers."

A cold laugh rang through the air, as its owner clapped his tiny hands in childish glee. "Well, well, if it isn't my little spy Zelos. Do you remember our promise?"

The redhead glared. "You know what? Screw your promise. Now that I met these guys, I could never go against them. They're the only true companions I've ever had, unlike _you_." Turning away from Mithos deliberately, Zelos aimed his magic at the other ex-Cruxis. "First Aid!"

"You see, Mithos?" Lloyd's softened voice held strong emotions. "Through time, people change, even people like Presea and Zelos."

The young Seraphim refused to believe him. "N-no! You're lying! People don't change! People are weak, stupid creatures. Even if they want to change, they _can't_!"

With a sigh, the swordsman shook his head. "Do you really believe Presea and Zelos to be stupid and weak? They've completely changed. Zelos now looks at Genis, a Half-Elf, as a friend. Presea... used to believe she was alone in the world... But now, look at her! She's smiling so much more..."

"But wait until their ideals are destroyed!" Mithos snarled, the tears in his eyes betraying his sadness, covered up so well by self-righteous rage. "Wait until one day, Genis and his sister leave you _Humans_ for people of their _real_ blood! Wait until one day, you no longer need Presea's strength and cast her away in her loneliness! You Humans are always like that, using everyone, manipulating everyone, even those of your own species!"

The teen's voice rose in his anger. "I would _never_ use someone! How _dare_ you even try to accuse me of doing such a thing?! I care about my friends. I would _never_ leave them! And… and if Genis and Raine want to leave, I won't stop them. If… if they really want to…"

Mocking laughter rang out, making the listeners cringe at its harshness, its absolute lack of respect for even life. "You would 'never use them'?" Mithos's face was barely recognizable, so distorted by cold mirth. "Then what did you do in my Tower of Salvation, when you watched them 'die' one by one? What did you do to reach me? 'Never use them' indeed!"

An exclamation from Genis saved the young swordsman from inner strife. "Lloyd, don't listen to him! We gave ourselves up _willingly_ so you could live on, carrying with you all our hopes and ideals! We're your friends and we care about you. Raine and I won't ever leave you!"

More than bolstering Lloyd's confidence, this one declaration seemed to shatter that of the Half-Elven Seraphim. "Then... do you not care about me, Genis? Are we not friends…?"

"No, I…!" A strangled gasp escaped the mage's throat. "I mean.. I…" He looked away, whimpering softly. "I don't know… Raine, what do I do…?"

The crimson-clad youth took a deep breath, willing himself to calm down, to reason with his half-insane foe. "I didn't use them. If I could redo that whole incident, I would do it in a heartbeat. I didn't want them to sacrifice themselves…" Another deep breath, a gentle voice… "And Genis _does_ care for you, Mithos. In a way, we _all_ do. If I could save you, I would."

"Care for me?" Tears streamed unchecked down the ancient hero's face, manipulation at its best. "Is this how you show care? Is this how you would 'save' me? By trying to _kill_ me?"

A tiny smile flitted across Lloyd's lips for just a second, despite the gravity of the situation. "Hey, you started it…"

"I did _not_!" Mithos declared in a sudden fit of childishness.

The teen swordsman pointed to a tiny wound on his arm, arching an eyebrow. "Then what's this? You attacked us first, Mithos. We were merely trying to protect ourselves."

"I…" The child-like hero was unsure, poised much as a hunted deer would. "I just wanted to offer you eternity. You… you rejected me! _All_ of you rejected me! _Why_? Why won't anyone see it _my_ way? Even Martel… No! That's right… That was one of your tricks. I _refuse_ to believe my sister would…!"

Arriving finally, Raine rushed to her brother before anything else. "Genis, are you all right?"

"Y-yeah…" Through tear-hazed eyes, the younger Half-Elf nodded.

"I know this is hard for you," the healer murmured, "but please… hang in there."

Genis nodded. "I-I know, sis. Mithos was my friend… but he's attacking Lloyd! He's going… against everything that we stand for. We have to stop him…"

"We will." Taking up her staff, the woman began her healing spells.

Zelos, too long quiet, took up the argument with Mithos where Lloyd left it off. "But you gotta understand, we _do_ care about you… bud." Sighing, he concentrated. "First Aid!"

"Wh-what?" It took a moment for the golden-haired Seraphim to get over his shock, as he saw his wounds disappear. "Why did you help me…?"

Newly arriving and fluttering up, Colette flashed him a gentle smile. "Because we want to be your friends too! Please, Mithos. Martel isn't rejecting you. She just wants you to go back to what you once were."

These words seemed to anger the boy, as he glared at the vessel he found for his sister; the vessel she refused to reside in. "That idiotic child I was? No. She can't. She _won't_. You're lying! _You're all lying_!"

As she watched him cover his ears with his slender hands, the newly-made angel felt tears of pity rise to her eyes. "Mithos… Please listen to us!"

"She's not lying." The redhead's flat voice broke no arguments. "None of us are." Suddenly, a grin spread across his face. "Come on, now, would we lie?"

Sylvarant's Chosen blinked. "Ummmm, Zelos, maybe you're not the best person to ask that question…"

Genis was less kind in his reply. "…No comment, Zelos."

The lady's man laughed lightly. "Eh heh heh heh heh… You wound me."

"Now's not the time, Zelos…" the silver-haired mage murmured warningly.

A familiar voice preceded two friendly faces. "Ugh… I knew he'd be joking at a time like this…"

"You too, Sheena?" Zelos pouted. "Come on, don't be mean, my voluptuous hunny!"

A ringing slap was heard from that pair, as Regal dashed into the scene, slightly slower than the ninja. "Lloyd! Presea! Are you all right?"

"Yeah, we're okay, thanks!" the youth in question answered, checking over the conditions of everyone else. When his eyes rove over Kratos, he frowned. He had not heard words from his father for a while now.

The mercenary caught the glance, giving a small nod and talking through clenched teeth. "I… I'm fine."

Lloyd hesitated. "You don't _look_ all right…"

The Seraphim mentor shook his head. "Don't worry about me. Concentrate on defeating Mithos."

A soft intake of air announced the ex-hero's distress. "Why do you say things like that, Kratos?"

The mercenary closed his eyes, turning away. "You are _not_ the Mithos I have befriended and taught. You... It is better... if you... The Mithos I knew had died with Martel. He would not have wanted this to happen."

"I… agree with what Kratos says," Lloyd volunteered, turning to his nemesis with honest compassion. "Even though I didn't know you back then, it feels like he's right. It's… weird. For the first few days I wanted to kill you. Now though...I don't really want to..."

A bitter snort escaped Mithos's lips. "Don't make me laugh."

"Actually, I'm completely serious." The young swordsman tilted his head. "When I see what you could have – what you _still_ can – become, I want you to keep living."

"What I can become?" Sharp denial was writing over all the once-hero's features. "What kind of joke is that?! I _am_ all that I can become; all that _anyone_ can become. I have power. I have immortality. I have the world at my fingertips!"

"Power? Immortality?" Closing his eyes momentarily, the teen posed a question. "Are those things really that great?"

"Of course!" But after his initial curt answer, the Seraphim hesitated. "Isn't that… everyone's wish?"

Lloyd shrugged. "I don't know, but I wouldn't wish that. I don't _want_ to live forever. I told you that. It would just… hurt too much. What I want is a normal, happy, _full_ life. I, too, want a world where people can live respecting each other and their differences, but I know you can't gain it through making them all into Lifeless Beings. That wouldn't be respect; it would merely be programmed acceptance."

Mithos shook his head. "Don't you see? People would _never_ respect those different from them!"

"Then who do you think we are?" the younger man countered gently. "All of us are different, yet we all love each other. We're the first step to ridding the world of discrimination. Zelos, already, is taking the second small step by getting rid of the law against Half-Elves. Soon, we'll be taking larger steps, accomplishing greater goals."

Grief was etched into the ex-hero's youthful visage, millennia after millennia of suffering suddenly evident. "You may very well do so in a tiny group for a while, and you may take away laws… but that won't change how people will feel! It's bred into them!"

"No… listen…" Lloyd stepped forward, his expression patient and kind. "Let me use Zelos as an example. He hated Half-Elves, both for what they had done in his past, and, as you said, because he had been conditioned from birth _to_ hate them. But look at him now! He's trying to change the laws so that Half-Elves would be respected. If he could do this, then so could more people, and someday…"

Quivering, the Seraphim took a step back, cutting him off. "S-stop it. You're lying. You're just trying to make me believe…"

"I _am_ trying to make you believe," the youth admitted gently, before his voice strengthened. "But I'm not lying. What Zelos is doing is true. He overcame his hatred, and now he wants others to do so as well."

"It would never work!" It seemed almost as if something was trying to break free within the fallen hero, something he was ever-so-desperate to keep inside for fear of what it would reveal. "It's just a foolish dream." This time, when tears sprung from his eyes, no one doubted their truth. "I tried so hard… but they never…" He shook his head, trying desperately to clear horrible memories. "I passed into legend as a hero! And even then, nothing changed… How can you expect anything to change _now_?"

"Slowly," Lloyd murmured, keeping his voice calm and soothing, realizing that he was talking to a millennia-old _child_ whose mind could not change, could not mature. "Slowly, bit by bit, everything is changing. The people of Iselia exile us no longer. The Elves in Heimdall look at us differently. Maybe the changes are small right now, but they _will_ come. You just have to give them more time."

Hesitating at first, through a tremendous act of courage, the youth walked over to the ancient hero, now hovering only a few inches above the ground. Slowly, he wound his arms around the lithe figure, giving a light hug. "Mithos… I want you to _understand_."

The Seraphim tensed, only reluctantly relaxing. Attacking was out of the question now. He could only push Lloyd away slowly. "There is no place for me. But I will give you a chance. That is the most that I _can_ do. I still don't believe you, but…" He shook his head. "Everything is lost anyway. If you can, then _show_ me what you said is true!"

As suddenly as his moods came and went, Mithos teleported a distance off. The swordsman sighed, though in relief or sadness, no one knew.

"I promise you, Mithos…"

"Don't fail me…" The words were soft, sad. "Don't betray me, like all the rest of them!"

And he was gone, leaving behind destruction; the only sign that he was ever there.

"Mithos…" The new voice, so full of sorrow and regret, did not belong to Lloyd but to his father. "I am sorry I failed you, so many years ago. Things could have been so different."

Lloyd gave him a faint smile. "Even he is changing, slowly…"

"All this could have been prevented," Kratos murmured, unable, in his mind, to escape fault. "None of this would have happened, had I been more prudent… had I been more humble…"

"It wasn't your fault." The younger sword master shook his head. "I think, even if you had done something, he would still have been like that. It was the death of his sister that triggered it…"

The older man closed his eyes, wishing he could believe. "If I had… tried harder… If I had been more powerful… Perhaps I could have prevented her death."

"No." Lloyd shook his head again, more firmly this time. "No, it couldn't have been helped. It was in the past, anyway. What's done is done."

"Like I always say," Zelos offered, throwing an arm around each of them, "'Whatever will happen, will happen'!"

Kratos smiled, ever-so-softly. "Thank you, both of you."

As the commotion broke up and everyone headed back to camp to continue whatever they had dropped, Lloyd could not help but feel a twinge of sadness, gilded by just a pinch of despair. Mithos's words where those of a stubborn child, but they held a drop of truth. What would happen if the world really did not change?

"Lloyd, come on!"

The new hero shook his head, clearing his mind of such thoughts. Everyone placed their faith in him. He must have some in himself as well.

But what about his initial problem? His words came back to him.

_I won't let you be lonely again, Dad! Even if no one else would, I'll stay with you forever!_

Nothing had been resolved, least of all _that_ problem. His friends would continue their day-to-day tasks, and he must carry on in his thoughts.

"_My offer still stands, Lloyd…_"

Eyes widening, the youth spun around, only to find the feather-light whisper of the wind, and the heavy, leaden cries of memory.

"_You could have everything. Power, knowledge… and immortality. Think about it. Eternity…_"

Lloyd shook his head, his mind made. He spoke to the wind, wondering if, somewhere, the fallen hero heard him. "Eternity is not the reward, but the price. Those who have to live forever have scars on their hearts to show for it. Like Kratos… and like you. I'll find a way to stay with my Dad forever, but not the way you want. We won't suffer in that escapeless void of time. I'll give him a _real_ life; the life he had lost when he became a Seraphim. We'll die… but before that, we'll _live_, which is much more than what I can say for the mere existence you can offer." He closed his eyes against the pricking of tears. "And I'll save _you_ too. Somehow."

Walking before him, hanging back, Kratos smiled again, softly, silently. In the end, one person truly _did_ understand. One person truly _may_ be able to help.

Even unable to keep that impossible promise, his beloved son, at least, would never make _his_ mistake.

-Fin-

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Liked it? Hated it? Though I was completely off my rockers and didn't know what I was talking about? ::sweatdrop::

In either case, please read and review! ::smiles::


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